Grassley Supports Infrastructure Plan, Sees Heavy Lift for States

Roads, bridges, and other infrastructure projects would be prioritized, and largely funded, by local and state governments under the President's proposal.

Amy Mayer
/ IPR file photo

Iowa’s senior senator says shouldering most of the cost of President Trump’s infrastructure plan will be challenging for states. But, Republican Chuck Grassley says crumbling bridges and unreliable locks and dams are an impediment to Iowa’s economy.

“Being able to move agriculture goods out of the Midwest and into the world market is critical to our competitiveness in the coming decades,” Grassley says. “To do that, we need to ensure that we have adequate river, rail and highway infrastructure to move billions of bushels of grain.”

Grassley says Congress can take up the proposed $200 billion in federal spending, but the President is calling on local and state governments and private industry to come up with the bulk of his $1.5 trillion proposal. In Iowa, lawmakers already are facing the prospect of cutting millions from the current year’s budget because of a shortfall in projected revenue.

“It’s going to be a problem,” Grassley says, “but don’t forget, this is going to be a 10 year program and I wouldn’t expect Iowa’s budget problems to be a 10 year problem.”

Related Content

President Donald Trump delivers his State of the Union Address Tuesday and the nation’s roads, bridges, rails and rivers will be on many people’s minds in the Midwest.

Trump has said he’s committed to improving the country’s infrastructure and now Mike Steenhoek, director of the Soy Transportation Coalition in Ankeny, wants to hear some specifics. Steenhoek says it’s an issue that cuts across many industries and speaks to people in all corners of the country.

Truck drivers, bus drivers, and other operators of commercial vehicles could be more likely to lose their licenses for texting while driving, under legislation the Iowa Department of Transportation will ask state lawmakers to approve this year.

Operators of commercial vehicles in Iowa are already pulled over and fined for texting or operating a handheld mobile phone, but it’s a general citation for violating federal rules.

Iowa law does not spell out a specific cellphone citation for operators of commercial vehicles.

Gov. Kim Reynolds today signed her first bill into law as the state’s chief executive, approving water quality legislation while surrounded in her formal office by supporters from inside and outside the legislature.

Senate File 512 appropriates $282 million over the next 12 years to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus flowing into Iowa waterways.

It’s designed to help the state meet the goals of its Nutrient Reduction Strategy to reduce nutrients in the water by 45 percent.